​​​​​​​By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) - The small African nation of Burundi on Thursday said it has severed relations and closed its border with neighboring Rwanda following accusations that Kigali supports Burundian rebels based in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Interior Minister Martin Niteretse announced the move, saying it was a response to Rwanda’s alleged support for Burundi’s Red Tabara rebels, blamed for last December’s attack in which 20 people were killed along Burundi’s western border with Congo, their much larger neighbor to the west.

“All the borders are closed,” he said while meeting security officials in the Kayanza province near the Rwandan border.

Niteretse described Rwandan President Paul Kagame as a “bad neighbor harboring criminals who are destabilizing Burundi.”

Niteretse said Burundi had also decided to expel Rwandan citizens from its soil.

In a statement, Rwanda said it regretted Burundi’s “unilateral decision,” which it said violates the principles of the East African Community bloc to which both countries belong.

“This unfortunate decision will restrict the free movement of people and goods between the two countries and violate the principles of regional cooperation and integration of the East African Community,” it said.

The closure came about two weeks after Burundi's President Evariste Ndayishimiye accused Rwanda of backing the Red-Tabara rebel group, an accusation Rwanda has previously denied.

The rebel group waged a war against Burundi's government in 2015.

In 2015, Burundi closed its border with Rwanda amid a political crisis, accusing it of supporting protesters against the reelection of then-President Pierre Nkurunziza. It reopened the border some seven years later, in 2022.